Summer
by lunylovegoodlover
Summary: Lily Evans was tired. James Potter was exhausted. When they ran into each other one on hot summer morning in 1977, neither of them had any idea of what the day would bring. Jily Short Story


Lily Evans was tired. It was far, far too early to be awake, especially since it had been less than a month since she got home from school. She should have been sleeping and hanging out with friends, not minding the small bed & breakfast her parents had started years ago.

But what was she supposed to say when her mum asked if she would be all right on her own for a few days? No? Was she supposed to be all selfish and deny her mother a well deserved vacation? She was Lily Evans, not some self centered prat. Of course she told her mother she'd be fine.

And she would be. Really. It was just that it was seven AM and there was nothing going on. She had started half a dozen books, only to put each down after less than a chapter. It was all stuff she had real already, anyway. She made a mental note to get to the bookstore that afternoon.

Then she looked out the window and all thoughts of bookstores were pushed out of her mind.

James Potter was exhausted. The sort of exhausted you get when you just pulled an all-nighter chasing your werewolf friend around and when said werewolf friend has accidentally injured one of your other friends, meaning that you have to help said other friend walk and put up with said werewolf friend's apologies.

He was just looking for a hotel. A dingy little place, where no one would ask any questions. They passed a bed & breakfast, but none of them considered stopping, despite their fatigue. People founded bed & breakfasts because they liked to talk to people, and James was not in the mood to talk.

But then, just as they were walking past the B&B, the boy he was supporting collapsed. James staggered under the weight, swearing colorfully under his breath. He was just laying the boy down on the ground when a blur of blue and a flash of orange swept by his face. To his shock (and the shock of his friends – the conscious ones, that is – if the looks on their faces were anything to go by) it was a girl.

But not just any girl. Though all James could see was the back of her head, he knew exactly who it was. He had known who it was from the moment she flew into his presence. He probably would have been able to identify her out of a hundred girls who had all been given Polyjuice Potion and made to look like her. James Potter knew Lily Evans very, very well.

"You lot are utter _prats_, you know that?" she said, and James was a little surprised to hear her voice wavering. "Complete and utter prats."

"Evans?" James' third friend, the only other one who could walk straight, didn't have as much practice identifying Lily from the back of her head as James did. "What in the world are you doing here?"

She didn't answer, just got to her feet and slipped an arm around the comatose body. "Help me," she ordered James, and he did as she said. He rather thought that he would always do what she said, so long as it meant she kept talking to him.

Lily had no clue what she was doing. Or rather, she knew exactly what she was doing, but she was at a loss to explain why. It wasn't like she even liked the boys that much. She told herself that it was just common decency, that she would be doing the same for a stranger. But seeing Pettigrew fall unconscious and watching how Remus leaned on Black and that look on Potter's face – it was enough to make her want to cry.

She was definitely more tired than she had thought.

Motives aside, Lily didn't really think twice about dragging all four boys into the B&B. Remus collapsed in a chair the moment they walked in and Black barley paused before joining him. Potter set Peter carefully down on a sofa as Lily went over to the desk.

"There's a couple coming into the honeymoon suite at six tonight, but you can stay there until then," she said. The boys looked at her, Potter raising a weary eyebrow, and she rolled her eyes. "You need sleep," she said. "All of you. And Remus and Peter need medical attention."

"We can do that," Potter said, his tone just a tad defensive.

"I know that," Lily snapped. She wasn't quite sure why she was snapping, but then again, when was the last time she had had a cordial conversation with this lot? "So go do it in the honeymoon suite. It's upstairs, third floor on the left."

"Upstairs?" That was Black. "Evans…" he started.

"I know," she said, this time making sure to soften her voice a little. "Here, I'll help you."

James didn't know how he was still moving. Peter's body was getting heavier and heavier as they climbed the stairs. So many stairs. Then there was a long hallway and then finally, a door. Lily had to let go of Peter to unlock it, and James nearly fell over. Yup, definitely time for a nap.

Lily waved her wand and the fluffy white bed duplicated itself on the other side of the room. James put Peter down gratefully as Remus collapsed next to him. They went automatically into their post-full-moon routine, reciting the healing spells from memory and growing more exhausted with every spell they cast.

Just as he was nearly at his breaking point (but he couldn't stop, not yet, because Peter was still hurt and Remus - ) a soft hand fell on his arm and a voice (an absolutely beautiful voice, and he wanted to tell her that, but his mouth wasn't working properly) said, "Let me."

He allowed himself to be led to the other bed and was vaguely aware that she was leading Sirius too. The moment he was lying down, however, he found that he could see her if he just opened his eyes the tiniest crack. "Evans?" he said, his voice a croak.

She turned and he could have sworn that she was smiling slightly. "Yes?"

"Thanks."

The smile grew bigger, if that was possible (which it wasn't, because this was _Lily Evans_ and he was _James Potter_ and she did _not_ smile at him, not ever, and she certainly never looked quite so pretty as she did in that moment but he was rambling in his thoughts now and - ) and James drifted into sleep.


End file.
